Land Rover Discovery 1

[MrCat]

Cat, looks like you're really enjoying working on the Disco. Good photos, always useful to others with problems.

Have you come across the free Disco Workshop Manual pdf? It's up on:

http://www.landrover...shop_Manual.pdf

...Brit vehicles ....and particularly their electrics.....really have a mind totally of their own, don't they!

Thanks for the link Schooter. I`ve actually got this and i`ve printed about half of the manual as well.

Haven't read the whole thing though. But I believe that it`s written for people who knows what they are doing (not for a noob like me) I might as well invest in something more descriptive such as a Haynes repair manual.

[MrCat]

I happened to notice sometime back that the bonnet release cable was damaged at the end where it meets the bonnet release mechanism. A few strands had snapped and it was a matter of time before the whole thing snapped, leaving me with a shut bonnet. So got around to replace the cable one fine Friday.

I had already bought the genuine replacement part:

Had to take the grill off to get to the bonnet release mechanism:

Here’s the sucker, attached to the body by a couple of bolts:

Took the mechanism apart and cleaned it well before assembling back. Easy job since the cable was of the correct length being the genuine part and I didn't had to fiddle around with anything.

[MrCat]

Just mounted a new battery tray for the second battery today.

The mounting platform for the second battery (a battery tray wasn't installed before) had some surface rust due to the battery leaking some juice. Cleaned and gave the platform a couple of coats of anti corrosive paint:

Here’s the new battery tray in place. The platform already had a few mounting slots in place, just got a couple of bolts of the correct size:

This battery aint moving around now, got a new adjustable battery tie down as well:

Oh, by the way, a miracle happened during this process, the wife volunteered for the paint job. I guess she was just bored since I was working on the car early Sunday morning.

]

[VVTi]

For your window control issue, I had the same issue with my Alfa, opened up the control box, sprayed contact clearer liberally, let it dry, blew some compressed air and it is still working. Might be a moisture issue coupled with dry solder. Try the first one and see.

[nexus]

congratulations with your purchase MrCat and good luck with your project mate.

[MadMMX]

How did you go about wiring up the second battery ? Did you have to use that gizmo that allows for the split charging of the two ?

[YALA]

How did you go about wiring up the second battery ? Did you have to use that gizmo that allows for the split charging of the two ?

there are aftermarket dual battery systems available when your converting from single to dual

[MrCat]

For your window control issue, I had the same issue with my Alfa, opened up the control box, sprayed contact clearer liberally, let it dry, blew some compressed air and it is still working. Might be a moisture issue coupled with dry solder. Try the first one and see.

Yes, should try this when I find a bit of time to pull the unit out. it appears to be a PTA to remove. The rear windows are currently working fine with the switches on the door(s) though, but not with the center console switches at the front.

[MrCat]

congratulations with your purchase MrCat and good luck with your project mate.

Hey, thanks for the wishes mate.

[MrCat]

How did you go about wiring up the second battery ? Did you have to use that gizmo that allows for the split charging of the two ?

The car already had the system installed when I got it. This is a basic duel battery isolator which is essentially a voltage sensitive relay/solenoid which starts charging the auxiliary battery once the primary battery is charged up to a certain voltage. It also isolates the starting battery when the engine is not running and the primary battery is falling below a certain voltage. The unit I’ve got here is an old unit though, I haven`t really checked whether it`s working a 100% as it`s supposed to, but both batteries gets charged ok.

There are highly intelligent battery ‘monitoring systems’ out there as well, which are having features such as: charging monitoring and display, ‘jump’ feature for starting, ability to cater for different types of batteries, alternator protection, etc…

Wiring for a basic system would be similar to this AFAIK (mine hasn't got this remote status lamp and override switch)

Edited October 22, 2012 by MrCat

[MadMMX]

Thanks - Interesting Also went in for a Disco 1 300TDI recently - Lots of plans

Cheers,

[MrCat]

Thanks - Interesting Also went in for a Disco 1 300TDI recently - Lots of plans

Cheers,

No worries at all..

Great to see a fellow Diso owner on the forum..!! You based on Colombo? More info on yours? Year manufactured (I`m guessing it`s a 94+ since a 300tdi)? Color? Any accessories installed?

[MrCat]

Just put on some decals on the Disco today.

[Junkfriend]

hell yhh everything else sucks

Edited October 29, 2012 by Junkfriend

[Gummybr]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_guCSMzcwd8

Well there you go how to fix the snorkel, I do believe they did it to expedition spec.

[MrCat]

Thanks for the video mate, I haven’t come across this before.

This is exactly what I need as well (snorkel input to go at the side of the air box and blank out the original air hole) because there`s not much room in there with the second battery in front and the abs unit at the back of the air box. I`ve read that converting to a barrel type air cleaner from a 200tdi could be more efficient with a snorkel setup, have to do some more research.

Edited October 30, 2012 by MrCat

[MrCat]

Just installed a new head unit today. This is a JVC (KD-R736BT) with Bluetooth (audio streaming and phone connectivity), two usb ports, ipod control, etc… The factory unit being a radio cassette player was quite useless without mp3 playback ability.

Here are the two harnesses I had to use to be able to do a plug and play job. With these you don't have to muck around with the factory wire harness. This is an ISO interconnect system. The one on the left takes the Land Rover factory plug and convert to an ISO harness, and the one on the right converts from ISO to the socket that JVC takes in.

Here`s the old unit. The tag explains why the thing ran perfectly for 15+ years, the Japs manufactured it, not the Brits..!

Aaaaand the new unit in place. This makes quite a difference in sound quality even though the speakers are still the old original ones. Got to replace the four speakers next (I wont touch the tweeters at the A pillar for the moment, they seems to be humming along ok)

[MrCat]

Well, I fu**d up a bit yesterday...! Was not paying enough attention when pumping fuel and pumped petrol in to the Disco. Realized after 80 liters went in.

Had to get the car towed to a garage, most places are open half a day on Saturdays, so they`ll work on it Monday. Only positive is that 15 years worth of of crap will get cleaned out from the Diesel tank. oh well, I`m all house bound for the weekend.

[The Don]

Well, I fu**d up a bit yesterday...! Was not paying enough attention when pumping fuel and pumped petrol in to the Disco. Realized after 80 liters went in.

Had to get the car towed to a garage, most places are open half a day on Saturdays, so they`ll work on it Monday. Only positive is that 15 years worth of of crap will get cleaned out from the Diesel tank. oh well, I`m all house bound for the weekend.

I think thankfully in the older 300tdi this is probably an easier problem to resolve compared to a newer common rail with a electronic fuel pump.

Did you start the car and then realise you had the wrong fuel in?

[fonfe]

As long as he didn't start the car itl be a simple drain tank and flush with fresh diesel job.

I've got a 3.5 RRC so please to see someone in a disco!

[MrCat]

I think thankfully in the older 300tdi this is probably an easier problem to resolve compared to a newer common rail with a electronic fuel pump.

Did you start the car and then realise you had the wrong fuel in?

As long as he didn't start the car itl be a simple drain tank and flush with fresh diesel job. I've got a 3.5 RRC so please to see someone in a disco!

Hey Guys, I was away on holiday so returned to A/L after a while.

Yeah, I didn’t start it so the old lump had no issues at all. A work shop just pumped the fuel out and refilled, I didn’t bother getting the system flushed either. About a 350 dollar exercise all up, including fuel costs and disposal costs though.

Good to see a RRC owner on the forum fonfe, got pics? Link to a forum thread?

BTW, the 300tdi is getting its oil sump gasket done tomorrow, hopefully will help the old girl to run somewhat ‘dry’ underneath. I am getting ready for a suspension revamp as well, got down each and every bush in Polyurethane plus the bolt kit, just waiting for some extra dough to dish out on springs and shocks.

[fonfe]

not got a thread as the car in in OZ, while im here i ride a bike as its far easier and much faster than the ole beast!

heres a pic for you though......and before anyone says it looks like it needs a polish...its matt black! was thinking of doing a tdi or TD5 conversion so the missus could drive it as shes on her P pllates still but decided im going to go down the 4.6 route instead

is your disco in OZ or in lanka then?

[MrCat]

Good stuff, the RRC seems to be in pretty good nick ..!

Yah, I recon don’t go diesel unless it`s a daily runner. 4.6 would be awesome with all that grunt and noise.

My Disco is in Oz mate, WA.

[fonfe]

Not bad for $1300 ay

Needed brakes all round, rear diff Balljoint and some paint but easy when you work in a dealer!

Still deciding, 4.6 will be great on noise and power but td5 has a great amount of torque, especially if its fitted with just one silencer, big intercooler, green cotten air filter and chipped. Done a few defender upgrades with that setup and they used to rip it down the road!

Turbo chatter was pretty good on em too -used to confuse the rice racer boys ha ha

[MrCat]

Hello All,

So I came across a rust issue with the Disco sometime back, this is at the front floorboard, both passenger and driver’s sides. Just unfortunate really, the A/C drain pipe has got blocked from underneath the car (with a decade worth of mud and sand I guess) and it’s been leaking in to the foot well. The factory noise insulator mat is made out of some spongy material about ½ inch think, so it has helped to retain the moisture in.

I pulled out all the trim and cut away the crap carpet underlay a couple of months ago, finally got some time to clean up the mess last Sunday.

Here`s the damage which became evident after some cleaning. This is on the passenger side though, the driver’s side isn’t that bad:

I scraped all the rust and removed most of the rotten metal from the floor board. Treated with some rust converter as well:

So im thinking of fixing this up temporary, should be good enough if I’m able to get a couple of years out of the fix. Welding is not a possibility since I don’t know how to, and I don’t think it’s worth all the hassle for a temporary fix either. Got a few options in mind:

• Use a fibre kit and some stainless steel mesh to cover up the holes – not sure whether moisture would creep inside the fibreglass layer and cause the rest of the metal to rust away soon though
• Pop revert some metal plates in to place
• Use a metal epoxy like ‘JB Weld’ to patch up with sheets of metal

Any thoughts on a better solution guys? Anybody who has attempted a repair like this without getting welding involved?

Edited January 22, 2013 by MrCat